I like to re-assess my fitness and health goals every few months. Being in the fitness industry and having a huge love of any and all things exercise related makes that a more attainable goal for me than for others. There is no ONE answer to your health problem (which can be very frustrating) but it allows for a lot of combinations.

I chose not to teach my HIIT aerobics classes this semester for multiple reasons but one was so that I could use that time to get myself back into the gym and re-energize current routines and try new things. (The gym is my creative playground!) My eating is always evolving just as much as my physical activity. Each day there are new studies to prove and disprove things we used to consider golden. My goals change which means the means I use to get there change too. Plus, as I mentioned before, I do enjoy trying out new things.

With this said, I’ve come upon 4 ways that I’m “Kickin’ It Up a Notch” in April. I’ll evaulate after April to see how it worked!

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Daily protein shake (5 days/wk)

I’ve been in and out on protein shakes, bars and supplements in the past. I’ll go through phases of them, but I’ve been training more for strength over the past month (and will continue to do so in April) so I need the muscle building help of the extra shakes. (Currently, I’m using Designer Whey. I’d love to know what you use and if you like it!)

2-3 eggs a day (5 days/wk)

I was inspired by this blog post (I’m looking forward to seeing his results.) but eggs are one of the cheapest, quickest, purest forms of protein. I love them (which doesn’t hurt) but there’s no doubt that many who are working on increasing their strength eat eggs by the carton!

♦ Sprints (2 days/wk)

I was a high-school track sprinter. My bread and butter was the 200m and 400m (even though I absolutely hated the pressure of racing!!) and did fairly well with them. Sprinting has a way of toning up my legs and abs and giving me a breathless workout stat! I’m sure I’ll be posting different sprint workouts I come up with, but I’d love to hear any you love! I’m also fully expecting to want to vomit at the end of each session too. I’ll keep ya updated on that. 🙂

♦ STRENGTH training (3 days/wk)

And when I say STRENGTH I mean STRENGTH. I’ve always strength trained, but it’s been more for muscle endurace and burn rather than an increase of weight. It is hard for me to really hit the heavy weights when I’m teaching my aerobics class because I just don’t have the array of weights I need at my fingertips at the church. So I actually started last month and will continue this month in focusing on amping up the amount I’m using for weights. Combining this with my protein, I expect to gain greatly in the strength area.

Daily Salad (5 days/wk)

Confession time. I’m not a big salad fan. Well, scratch that. I am, but it has to involve lots of cheese, turkey, ham and other toppings that make the calorie count equivalent to a Big Mac. However, I realize that I need to get more veggies in my diet, plus this will fill me up and give me the nutrients I need. Probably won’t hurt the waist-line either. 🙂

(Photo)

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Have you re-evaulated your health goals recently? Maybe it’s time to do that! If you want to “Kick it up a notch” in April, then please join me! I’ll have various check-ins on facebook and twitter for those who want the accountability!! Let’s do this!